Imagine a business has reached the pinnacle of their industry by producing consistent, high quality products that their customers rave about. Would they hold their position by maintaining the status quo? Or would their competition surely overtake them in a relative short amount of time?

Of course, no business can remain a leader in their industry if they simply rested on their laurels. That is why the concept of continual improvement is so important to a business’s long term success.

At Manex, we understand how powerful a tool continuous improvement in quality management is. Today, we will examine the role of continual improvement in ISO 9001 in depth, as well as how you can implement continuous improvement in your quality management system.

ISO 9001 and Continuous Improvement

Around the world, businesses across a variety of industries rely on ISO 9001 to provide a set of standards for adopting a quality management system (QMS). Quality management systems are an essential way for businesses to consistently deliver products that meet or exceed customer expectations and achieve a high level of quality. The specifications of ISO 9001 are broad and applicable to virtually any business or industry.

One of the most important concepts in ISO 9001 is continuous improvement. Continuous improvement in quality management systems is an ongoing commitment to enhancing and optimizing all aspects of a company’s products, processes, and services over time. The basic idea behind continuous improvement in quality management is that by regularly making small improvements, you can achieve major improvements over time.

Continuous improvement goes beyond just maintenance and upkeep. Continuous improvement requires a proactive approach to analyzing everything about your processes, and identifying and eliminating inefficiencies, bottlenecks and other problems that keep you from achieving a higher level of quality.

How Continuous Improvement in Quality Management is Achieved

There are a variety of methods for achieving continuous improvement in quality management systems, however the most commonly used method is known as Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA). PDCA is a cyclical framework for businesses to implement continuous improvement in nearly any situation. It provides a cyclical method to improve nearly any aspect of production or service. Here is how it works:

Plan

PDCA begins with a plan from management to improve a specific area of business. In this stage, goals must be clearly defined, as well as how success will be measured. For example, a goal might be to reduce product defects by 20%. A plan would be created to conduct an investigation into discovering the root cause of the defects. It could be due to faulty equipment, operator error, or issues with the raw materials used, but the key is to create a plan to address the root cause of the issue.

Do

With a plan of action in place, it’s time to get to work. This could include recalibrating machinery, retraining operators, and other upgrades. The plan may only be implemented At this stage, it’s extremely important to gather data regarding the changes made, such as the number of defects detected after making changes.

Check

Once the plan has been implemented and data collected, an in depth analysis can be done. If the changes have made a significant reduction in the number of defects, then the plan can be deemed successful.

Act

If the plan implemented has been successful in reducing the number of defects, then the organization can standardize and fully incorporate the changes into their production process. If on the other hand the defects still persist, or have not been reduced significantly enough, then the PDCA cycle can begin again. The insight gleaned from each cycle will always prove helpful in eliminating possible causes for the defects encountered.

By routinely utilizing the PDCA cycle, organizations can regularly practice continual improvement to identify and address defects and other issues that will ultimately improve both product quality and customer satisfaction over time.

Building a Culture of Continuous Improvement

In ISO 9001, continuous improvement is deeply ingrained as a core requirement. But In order for continuous improvement to become part of an organization’s culture, it requires a long term commitment from management, on down throughout the workforce.

To help you understand ways to instill the principles of ISO 9001/continuous improvement in your workforce, we offer these suggestions.

Leadership Must Be All In

The impetus for continuous improvement in quality management must come from the top. Leadership must lead by example by consistently seeking areas of improvement in all facets of production, as well as driving improvement initiatives internally.

Involve the Workforce

Sometimes, the best ideas for improvement come from those who are working on the frontlines day by day. Take the time to talk to your workforce, and encourage them to share their ideas for how processes can be improved. Their insight can be invaluable. Be sure to tap into it.

Invest in Training and Development

Conducting regular training sessions to enhance employee skills can lift an entire department’s performance over time. The more knowledge and skill they possess, the more likely they are to be able to identify areas of improvement. An investment in your employees is an investment in your overall quality of products and services.

Recognize and Reward

When employees are not only recognized, but rewarded for their hard work, they are more likely to buy into the idea of continuous improvement. Rewarding your employees creates a positive work environment, where they will be more motivated to contribute to the overall success of the company.

Other Methods of Continuous Improvement

The PDCA framework may be one of the most commonly used tools for continuous improvement in quality management systems, but it is not the only one. Here are some other methods that can be used to improve your overall quality through continuous improvement.

Lean Six Sigma

Lean is a methodology that focuses on reducing waste and inefficiencies. When coupled with Six Sigma, a data driven methodology for reducing defects, it produces a powerful tool that can improve quality, increase efficiency and lower costs.

Kaizen

Kaizen is a Japanese methodology for continuous improvement. It focuses on making small, incremental improvements that can be made quickly and easily. It relies on everyone in an organization, from upper management, to those on the production floor, to contribute ideas for continual improvement.

Kanban

Kanban is a visual tool for managing a workflow. It uses a board or digital equivalent to break a process into various stages. Kanban is useful for limiting the number of tasks in each stage, so that the work flows smoothly, avoiding bottlenecks. Kanban boards help to regularly review a process and eliminate inefficiencies.

These are just a few of the alternative techniques for achieving ISO 9001 continual improvement objectives. Whether you incorporate one, or all of these techniques, your organization will be well positioned to embrace continuous improvement.

Conclusion

In ISO 9001, continuous improvement is a cornerstone of quality management that cannot be overlooked. By implementing a strategy of continuous improvement in your organization, you’ll be better equipped to not only meet, but exceed quality standards and customer expectations. Not only that, but you’ll gain a competitive advantage over your competitors by reducing costs and increasing efficiency.

At Manex, we have helped dozens of organizations in Northern California embrace continuous improvement in quality management by providing expert guidance, training and support. If you need help building a culture of continuous improvement, look no further than Manex. Contact us today to see how we can help your organization become the best version of itself.